It was a particularly beautiful morning earlier this week when I joined a bunch of people on the Cartela.

We chugged out of Brooke St Pier, on our way out to greet the huge Queen Victoria cruise liner on its way up the Derwent to rest alongside in Hobart port for the day.

I quickly snapped this overflowing golden sunrise, spilling out from behind the Howrah beaches ...goregous.

The Cunard Line ship was even more massive up close, than I had expected it to be. Incredible.

The wild Cornish coastline

...and while I'm at it, here is the view out to the other side from half-way up the steep track that leads to ruins of the (very old) pre-Viking settlements, and the (later) Tintagel ruin that features in my previous shot.

It was a magical day, weather-wise...quite a climb up a very well-worn track.

The huge swell that wrecked itself on these rocks would have fairly successfully eliminated any threat from the sea to the Cornish earls who called Tintagel home.

As a major King Arthur fan in my youth, this particular visit had all sorts of bells ringing.

The Eye of Tintagel

I can't believe that it's almost a year since my wife and I went to the UK and Paris for the most amazing trip...the kind one could almost describe as the "trip of a lifetime". I was just looking through some shots from our days and nights around the south-west of England and came across this rather special shot of the Cornish coastline...taken through the window of the ruins of Tintagel Castle. It really was, for me, an extraordinary visit, and rated up there with walking around Stonehenge, the raw and wild beauty of the far-famed Ring of Kerry, the pulsating live show at the Moulin Rouge, the peaceful ruins of Fountains Abbey, and the sheer beauty of the English countryside in Dorset and beyond.

Ahhhh...perhaps we'll go back some day, perhaps...

Gran Torino: a grand film indeed

I'm sure many people thought that Clint Eastwood wouldn't be able to top Unforgiven.

I, for one, think he has done so with Gran Torino. What a terrific movie.

It's been a while since I've had a chance to actually watch a film in the cinema; so I took the opportunity to go with my wife and another couple last night.

The young dickheads texting, rattling, chattering, giggling and just outright talking in full voice in the seats right across from me reminded me of some of the reasons why I didn't regularly go to the movies (along with the advertising at the beginning - which seemed to go on for ages!!)

Now, I admit I am a Clint Eastwood fan; but even bias aside, this is a complex piece of work which leaves viewers with a full mix of emotions at the end of the show - and for all the right reasons.

And what a sensational car.

Living End gong

I've got a problem with the term "rockabilly punks" for The Living End - don't get me wrong, I love 'em - just think this sort of terminology unnecessarily pigeonholes the dudes...

Rock act humbled by ARIA

"DESPITE picking up countless awards and accolades in recent years, Melbourne rockabilly punks The Living End were extra thrilled to win the Best Rock Album ARIA Award for their latest record White Noise.
``I think it probably means more now, this many years down the track as a band, than it did when we first started,'' double-bassist Scott Owen said.
``Everyone knows who we are and has an idea what to expect from us now, so to still be able to excite people and for them to put us into a position to win an ARIA feels extremely flattering.
``It feels like we had to work harder now for it than we did when we were just starting out and were a new thing in people's eyes.''

Murderous Hamster...

Fantastic.
Like something directly out of Monty Python...

A blunder in a television report has seen a hamster labelled as a murder suspect.

The TV news reported:

"...The possible suspect Rodney Stanger seen here ... well this is not Rodney Stanger obviously," the newsreader said.
"Well we're going to get his picture. He's currently in a Florida jail accused of murdering his girlfriend."
Mr Stanger is awaiting trial in the slaying of his longtime girlfriend Chrystal A. Morrison, 50, last year, the Worcester Telegram reports.

Engrish alive and well on the internets

In these uncertain economic times, any export income opportunities would appear even more valuable. Perhaps an opportunity is going begging:

I'm not quite sure who runs LiveLeak news, but it would appear that they are in dire need of something more than a Google translator when putting English-language versions of Chinese news stories on their site.

The yarn Man In Pain After Humping Steel Park Bench gives the reader a rough outline of what is going on (perhaps that's what the video accompanying is all about) but it's hard (fnaar fnaar) not to laugh out loud at the tremedous syntactical constructions such as:

"The bench, features “numerous small holes”. In Xing went. But out he did not emerge."

Wonderful stuff.

And what is it with "park benches" ?? This site loves 'em.

Red tailed hawk resqued after its leg got stuck in a park bench

Waugh weighs in: surprise, surprise, NSW gets his nod

Steve Waugh is probably right in his comments about Philip Hughes and Andrew Symonds - but it's clear Ye Olde New South Wales selection bias is alive and well.
Let's just hope Hilfenhaus gets a guernsey, so we can see what he can really do.

Waught says that Hughes should get the nod:

“Hughes is ready to go. You just get a sense when a player is right to play for Australia. He scored runs when he needed to under pressure last week at Newcastle. He’s a very focused individual.”

If Jaques misses out, he will do so after scoring a century in his last Test innings. Bit stiff I reckon.

wasn't it Brad Hodge who notched a huge score (200 I think?) - and against South Africa in Perth, ironically - but couldn't keep his Test spot.

Strange days indeed.

Budgie smuggler busted

Man 'smuggled live pigeons in pants'.

Check out the photos!! hilarious.

Live birds down his pants, eggs, seeds, eggplant (any co-incidence you may ask?) ...what was this dude thinking ?

The Australian reports that: "A Customs spokeswoman said it was not known what the pigeons were intended to be used for, adding the man was expected to be charged on summons with wildlife smuggling offences. "

Fantastic.

'...an ugly old bastard like me'

These are the words that Tom Keneally used to describe himself as he sat for Paul Ryan's entry in this year's Archibald Prize for portraiture.

"Named after J.F.Archibald, co-founder of The Bulletin magazine, it is Australia's oldest and best-known prize for portraiture.
The paintings are supposed to depict a person distinguished in the arts, science, letters or politics. "

Portrait of the artist as man-mountain Jared Owens, The Australian

"The NSW-based artist has depicted Keneally in the form of a mountain in his bid to win Australia's most famous art prize.
"He basically said: 'I don't know why you'd want to paint an ugly old bastard like me', and I said it's because you've got all that character that I want to paint," Ryan said.

Well...it is you have said it, Tom, as someone famous was reputed to have said once upon a time.

Phelps and THAT bong picture

Michael Phelps admits to smoking cannabis after bong picture is published

This article from The TimesOnline is sub-titled "14-times Olympic gold medal winner caught with cannabis pipe."

The Brit tabloid that broke the biggest sports drug scandal in the world for the forseeable future - News of the World - has its main header screaming What a Dope.

Did he inhale? This ripper image from the News would suggest so - and Phelps later came out and admitted that he had demonstrated "regrettable behaviour" and "bad judgement."

Towards the end of the article, however, the TimesOnline suggests that:

"...The Phelps case has a parallel in Britain where Matt Stevens, the Bath and England rugby union prop forward, faces a two-year ban for taking cocaine..."

It struck me that, as Shakespeare wrote in Much Ado About Nothing, comparisons are odorous.